Stone Brewing

Like all great stories in the craft beer business, Stone Brewing's begins with a passionate beer drinker brewing his own beer at home. Steve Wagner, Stone Brewing's very first brewmaster, gained his first brewing experience in his own kitchen, and it was a twist of fate when he met Greg Koch in 1989.

A beer revolution

The two beer aficionados drank countless bottles of beer together while making wild plans. One of those plans, to start their own brewery, persisted. Steve and Greg had planned a revolution: Their goal was to free America from the shackles of industrially brewed mass-produced beers - To move away from standard beers and turn to beery works of art from creative minds and bold craft brewers. In 1996, the time had come and the first keg of Stone Brewing's own production was sold. With this step, the two brewers are not only considered legends in the craft beer scene, but also forefathers of the worldwide craft beer movement. The two avant-gardists took the beer market by storm: Their provocative creations, such as Arrogant Bastard or Ripper, were soon known far beyond the borders of the American continent. No wonder, after all, such hop-intensive, masterfully brewed and unique beers hardly existed at the time. Greg and Steve challenged the autocrat of industrial beer to a fight and overran it with a flood of creative, outstanding craft beers.

Beer unites

Everyone knows that beer brings men and women together at the pub table. But brewers are also uniting in the name of good beer. Stone is a pioneer in this area as well: Since their beginnings in the nineties, the brewers have been committed to cooperation in the craft beer business. Instead of competition and rivalry, Stone Brewing lives for exchange, collaborations, and sharing experiences among brewers. Collaborations with other breweries have already resulted in countless creations, and Stone Brewing always has an open door for fellow brewers. There are two locations where Stone Brewing's exceptional beers are brewed: Richmond and Escondido are the hallowed halls where the magic happens. At times, brewing was also done in Berlin, but the decision was made to move production back to American soil, back to the roots, so to speak. Nevertheless, Stone Brewing's creations can be found all over the world: in more than 40 countries people drink Stone IPA, Go to IPA and the other fabulous beers.

Incidentally, the mystical mascot of the brewing empire is the gargoyle, which has been peering from the logo with a challenging look since 1996.